2001 Dodge Ram Pickup SLT from North America - Comments

2001 Dodge Ram quad cab 4X4 Sport. 318 auto... no power. BUT swapped 360 into truck and got a B&G (out of Michigan) ECU flash and a K&N Gen II filter and she can spin 35" tires without a problem.

Known problems with the Dodge is the dealers/dodge "flashing" ECUs so the engine doesn't "ping". That means your robbed of power. Getting your ECU re-flashed or a power programmer will help greatly. Also making sure your cat. convt. is not clogged. This will def rob power. Getting a 14" round k&n filter helps. Check your gears in the rear end... you may have Torque gears which slow you down.

Doing upgrades to exhaust, ecu, intake, rear end gears, plenum gasket all will help greatly. These are all talked about on www.dodgeforums.com and www.dodgetruck.org.

I've owned 7 Dodge Rams... all with the 360 and they are great. The 318 I had...145 on it and I didn't try any upgrades. I know the 360 very well and I went for the upgrade. It runs and drives great.

As for the transmission. If its taken care of and you have a transmission cooler on it it will probably last a long time. A lot of people don't have the filter and fluid changed in the trans and they wonder WHY the trans failed. Don't get me wrong dodge didn't build a great trans, but owners can take better care of the truck too.

Plus who wants a Chevy...lol.

Jeff

USMC

firstaidbuilders@yahoo.com.

I just learned that my stepdaughter was in an accident. Fortunately, except for a bit of whiplash sustained by her and three passengers every-ones OK. Seems she was driving her Dodge 1500 through a tunnel and the vehicle lurched violently. I found this site about an hour ago to see if this was a common problem. Reading the comments compeled me to sign up and add my own.

It seems while driving through the tunnel the thing lurched putting the rear end into the wall. It bounced off and went across two lanes hitting headlong into the opposite wall completely destroying the front end.

She bought this truck used about 6 months ago, not sure

about the mileage. Please be careful out there.

97 dodge ram 1500 4x4 225655 miles, i bought it at 72000 miles 8 years ago, only major parts replaced, water pump, radiator and hub bearings, best truck I ever owned, just bought 01 2500 4x4 with v10, if this one is half the truck of the first one I will be very happy,

2001 dodge 1500 5.2 L 4x4. 115,000 miles. Original engine AND trans still going strong.

The Trans was a little weird when I bought it 4 years ago, (the not down shifting or shifting up shifting too early problem most of you talk about) so I changed the governor/solenoid assembly and away we go.

I think many of you are being taken for a ride by shops either deliberately or because their techs are idiots. The electronic governer control on these trannys is a poor design, but replacing them ($200 range) is easy and usually solves most of these problems.

The issue is when you wait to long to do it and the transmission runs around at insufficient pressures... leads to slipping and burned clutches.

I use all synthetic ATF to keep the temp down and service it at 30,000 mile intervals to keep the filter clean.

Hope this helps! Find a shop that knows what your talking about when you mention this issue, or do it yourself! Simply drop the pan and change the gov/sol assembly. You'll need to get the PCM re-flashed.

For power, open up the exhaust and the intake.

Friends, I don't baby this truck and it NEVER lets me down.

I own a 2001 2WD with the 5.9L. Bought it used with 50,000 and it now has 91,000. At 70,000 had to have the transmission rebuilt. It started pulling to the left recently so I took it in for a front in alignment. The shop was unable to align the camber to specs due to running out of adjustment. There is no signs of this truck ever being wrecked. The dash looks like a jig saw puzzle with all the cracks in it, and now the A/C Condenser fan has had to be replaced. And last but not least the U-Joints went out at 65,000. I'm just holding my breath waiting for the next expense. I would not own another Dodge product if it was given to me.

Have an '01 Ram 1500/318/5-speed bought it new. Had about 5k miles and the front stabilizer had to be replaced, replaced again at 75k. Front rotors and brakes at 60k. Now at 93k the transmission is going out.

Gas mileage is horrid, if it could get CLOSE to the 19 (sticker) highway I'd eat it, every nut and bolt. Last time I checked it was getting 15... since gas has went up, I don't even want to know.

Hey, I have a 2001 Ram 1500 with a 360 and my trans has issues with gong in and out of passing gear around 65-70 mph. Someone said to check the ground to the computer? Any one have any other ideas??

I have a 01 Ram 1500 Quad with the 318. Recently, the transmission will slip when first start off, but not all of the time. I had the transmission served about six months ago. Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated. Pls send to kypihipr@yahoo.com. Thanks.

WOW I got online looking to see what was wrong with my 2001 Dodge truck. "on cold days it makes whining noise only in reverse".

The thought of paying for a new transmission scares me to death!

What to do?

Trade it in ASAP, or try some Trans Foam by Sea Foam?

Or buy a new electronic governor control?

I'm LOST.

Looking to purchase used 2001 1500 Quad with the 318. It has 120,000 miles on it and had the tranny rebuilt 15K ago. Now only needs a muffler and rear diff. I can pick it up for a song, but my question is to anyone that has had their tranny rebuilt opposed to replaced, and what my chances are of failure again... anyone have experience with a re-build?

Also, anyone else have a rear diff failure?

2001 Ram 1500 SLT 5.9L 4x4 Quad Cab.

At 20,000 miles, took it to the dealer because of lifter noise. Dealer installed new lifters, drove truck 20 miles and noise was worse than before. Took it back to the dealer, the dealer came back and said the engine needed to be rebuilt at 20,000 miles. I made them put in a new engine, under warranty.

At 50,000 miles the transmission quit pulling, had to have it towed to the dealer. Dealer said that transmission was shot. I only towed a small trailer with 2 4 wheelers on it and this truck has never been off road or seen a mud puddle. Transmission was out of warranty. Had to have transmission put in, 2 options new or re-man. I went with re-man, it came with a 3 year warranty, new had 1 year warranty. This tells me that Dodge knows there is a problem with their transmissions, but they will not admit it.

This will be the last Chrysler product that I ever own. I had a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 SLT Club Cab 5.9L 4x4, never had any trouble. Wish I would have kept it. I hope Chrysler goes belly up. Poor quality.

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2L 318 bought used with 1000 miles on it. It just turned over 245,000 miles and I have spent less than 500 in repairs. The transmission has an occasional slip that has been there since 100,000 miles. I never use cruise control due to governor control when in cruise (it revs up and down) from time to time. This is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned, and I will make my next purchase a Dodge as well!

I purchased a 2001 Dodge Ram 318 two wheel drive about 7 years ago. It has been a great truck for all my needs, and I do get 21 miles to gallon on the highway.

Only problem I have is the transmission, which is getting worse. Shifting down and up is slow, and in cold weather is worse. Now the transmission will not shift out of 1st till I hit 60 kph at the start of the day, and then settles down when warmer. Must be a fluid problem. Had the filter and fluids changed 1 year ago after having same problems as other owners, not shifting down at slower speeds. I just manually shifted, but this new problem will have to be fixed this week. I will consult my mechanic about installing a new electronic governor control before going to a tranny place. Anyone recommend a reliable company in Canada for transmission service other than a dealer?

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, and it's giving me a lot of problems. Beside the fact that my the dash board, (wait a minute, I don't have a dash board) started cracking so bad, I had to remove it. My truck pulls to the right no matter how much I align it. It makes a weird noise when backing up, had to replace the wheel bearings. I will never buy a Dodge pickup again.